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by R.A. Mathews

Walter Geoffrey, a French bulldog, became an internet sensation years ago when his mom began placing videos of Walter online. I remember one with over 16 million views. Walter and his mom were out for a drive, and she had passed the park. Walter saw this. Even though she tried to explain that the park was closed, Walter had a meltdown. 

If you haven’t laughed today, Google “Walter Geoffrey.” You won’t be disappointed. His barking outbursts are hilarious. 

Often in relationships, the party with the most power tends to be the least diplomatic. I’ll let you figure out who’s who in Walter Geoffrey’s world.

In the Bible, a military captain knew he had the upper hand when the king of Israel dispatched him to bring in a holy man named Elijah. 

It seems King Ahaziah feared for his life after suffering a bad fall and had sent messengers to ask the god, Baal-zebub, if he would recover. But the messengers had been turned back by Elijah who said, “Is it because there’s no God in Israel, that you’re going to inquire of Baal-zebub?”

Elijah then said the faithless king was going to die.

When Ahaziah heard those dire words, he asked for a description of the prophet and knew it was Elijah.

That’s when the king sent the captain with fifty men to get the holy man. The troops found the prophet sitting on a hill, and the captain then ordered him to come down. 

I guarantee that this captain used a tone that meant business. I say that not just because the party with the most power tends to be the least diplomatic but also because Elijah didn’t come down. Instead, the prophet summoned fire from heaven.

Not the first time.

In fact, you could call Elijah the pyro-prophet. Years earlier, in a big display before the people of Northern Israel, Elijah had called down fire from heaven to burn a sacrifice on an altar and prove the power of God (1 Kings 18:38).

But since there was no altar, why did Elijah want fire? Here it is.

The fire descended and burned up the captain and his fifty men, protecting Elijah from the evil king’s troops.

Ahaziah immediately dispatched another captain with fifty men. Apparently, this second captain hadn’t put two and two together, because he also thought he was more powerful than the holy man. The captain proceeded to demand that Elijah come down from the hill.

Same thing happened—Elijah called for fire from heaven and the captain and his men were destroyed.

Ahaziah then dispatched a third captain with fifty men, but this commander fell to his knees before Elijah. The military man knew what was what. The captain said, “Please let my life and the lives of these fifty servants of yours be precious in your sight.”

An angel immediately told Elijah, “Go … do not be afraid.”

So, Elijah went with them. The prophet appeared before the king and said, “Because you have sent messengers to inquire of Baal-zebub … you shall surely die.” And Ahaziah died (2 Kings 1:2-17 ESV).

Did it have to go that way? 

Ahaziah wasn’t nearly as evil as his father, King Ahab. Scripture says, “There was none who sold himself to do what was evil in the sight of the Lord like Ahab …” (1 Kings 21:25 ESV).

In fact, years earlier, the prophet Elijah had gone to King Ahab with a similar prophecy. “Because you’ve sold yourself to do what’s evil … . I will utterly burn you up … .”

King Ahab didn’t want to be burned up by the pyro-prophet. The king tore his clothes, fasted, and laid down dejected in sackcloth.

God saw this and said to Elijah, “Have you seen how Ahab has humbled himself before me? Because (of this) I will not bring the disaster in his days …” (1 Kings 21:29 ESV).

So, Ahab’s son knew to repent and turn to God, but he died in his pride. The moral: You may think you have the upper hand, but God sees and He will repay.

If you know a person barking their way through life, much like Walter Geoffrey, you might want to share this column with them. If that person is you, stop and consider whether you’re treating the person with lesser status as you would want to be treated.

God sees.

The Rev. Mathews (BA, MDiv, JD) is a newspaper faith columnist and the author of the Reaching to God series and the mystery Emerald Coast: The Vendetta.  

Copyright © 2024 R.A. Mathews.